Bloomfield parents seek advice on predators

Friday

Criminal charges against a school custodian have put the problem front and center for this small community.

Forty Bloomfield School District parents attended a forum on how to keep children safe from predators last night, just days after a school custodian was charged with a sex crime.

Dahl B. Rodgers, 55, of 17 Main St., Bloomfield, was charged with a third-degree criminal sex act Monday afternoon for allegedly performing oral sex on a then-16-year-old male sometime between September 5, 2005 and September 10, 2006.

Interim Superintendent Thomas Strining said Rodgers' employment record showed that he was "a good employee." There were a few concerns about him being "too religious or too friendly with kids," but follow-ups showed nothing of a criminal or sexual nature, said Strining.

Mary Whittier, executive director of the Bivona Child Advocacy Center, said that parents should watch out for adults who are overly friendly with children. Most children are sexually abused by someone they know and trust, she said.

"It really is these folks that know the kids, that establish a relationship with these kids," she said.

In the case of Rodgers, Ontario County Sheriff's Investigator Greg Shaffer said that he first met the alleged victim at school and later became a family friend. Shaffer said he has been charged with one incident, but that the sheriff's office is investigating additional ones with the same alleged victim. The alleged contact was not forcible, Shaffer said.

The incident brought out questions from parents who were not only concerned about Rodgers but about how to talk to their children about sex abuse.

"I'm here to find out some facts and to find out how to address kids entering school," said Carolyn Troy, who has a son entering first grade.

Whittier said now there is less of a "stranger-danger" approach to teaching young children about predators and more of a focus on "grooming." Grooming is when a sexual predator forms a strong relationship with his or her victim.

"This child often likes or loves the person that is doing this to them," said Whittier.

Pam Weaver, director of community education at the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said parents should monitor the relationships that their children have with adults. They should always know where their child is, what they are doing and whom they are with, she said.

Strining said the school has strict rules for employees on contact with students. They cannot have anything covering the windows of their classrooms, should call parents before driving a child home in their car and shouldn't spend excessive time alone with students. All employees must also be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check.

Rodgers has not been convicted of a sexual crime and therefore is not a registered sex offender. His residence is less than a mile from the school, which worried some parents. But School Resource Officer Todd Ford said keeping a close watch and communicating with children will help prevent any possible danger.

"I don't see him as the dirty old man flashing the overcoat," said Ford. "Anyone who knows him knows that's not the person anyone here knows."

Weaver said that while sex-offender registries are helpful, the offenders who haven't been charged pose just as much of a danger.

Research shows that one out of five girls and one out of seven boys are sexually abused by the time they are 18 years old.

"So often, it's the ones we don't know about," she said.

Ford said Rodgers posted bail almost immediately on Monday afternoon.

His case will be reviewed by a grand jury in Ontario County, which can choose to levy additional charges.

No other alleged victims have been found, said Ford. The district is encouraging parents whose children had contact with Rodgers that may concern them to call their child's principal or call the sheriff's office at (585) 396-4637.

Advice for parents

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children advises parents to do the following to prevent the sexual exploitation of their children:

• Listen to your children if they say they don't want to be with someone or go somewhere.

• Encourage open communication with your children.

• Notice when someone shows a child a great deal of attention or begins to give gifts to him or her.

• Teach children that they have a right to say no to any unwelcome, uncomfortable or confusing touch by others.

• Be sensitive to changes in a child's behavior or attitude

For more information, visit www.missingkids.com

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